Waiting for Spring

There are only 4 photos I deemed worthy of sharing with you this month. Two of them are of old houses just outside Beaver, Utah.  I took them on the way home from a visit to St. George.

 I don't know why, but I'm drawn to old houses, abandoned cars and dead trees.  They make me feel wistful and I wonder about the life that once moved in them.  Please remember to click on the pictures to get a better view.  Hugs, Laura

 I rescued this bit of 'lost wool'. It was looking a bit forlorn on the grass beside the car.  I had jumped out of the car so quickly I'd dumped it off my lap onto the ground.

This is literally the leaf from a book.  It fell onto the table out of my journal where  I'd tucked it last fall. 

Year's End 2013

I have many photographs  from the final quarter of 2013. (And one or two surprises.) Out of the several hundred I shot these are the ones I wished to share with you.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

In October I headed down to the little lake near my house to plein air sketch/watercolor with  my friend Deb, who is an artist also.

I adore this handsome Chinese Gander.  His wife is a Snow Goose and he is wildly protective of her.  I love watching the pair of them together.

Winding my way through autumn on the Alpine Loop.

November was "Adventure Month" .  Tracy and I appeared at the Singapore Writer's Festival.  The flight was 22 hours plus 4 hours layover total in San Francisco and Japan. (yes 26 hours!)  We lost  a Tuesday and got two Mondays in return....I want my Tuesday back.

Singapore is a fascinating mix of old and new.  A shining, clean, safe city...just like a big port city should be. (New York and LA take note!)  The cherry on this cake for me is that while everyone may speak several different languages, the national language is English.  It was a delightful week full of a fabulous variety of Asian food, long walks and fascinating people. 

The architecture is a fascinating blend of colonial and ultra modern.

The hotel.

 I found the building facades to be absolutely delicious.

They were starting to decorate the entire town and the airport for Christmas.  I couldn't resist this fellow.  

Caught this sunset in the Narita, Japan airport, waiting for our long night flight home.

After a week at home for me and quick trip to Indianapolis for Tracy, we headed to Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada for another appearance.

In the distance you can see the Canadian Rockies.

I don't think I've ever understood how flat and wide-open (and lonely-feeling) the land is to our north.  Excellent land for cattle and wheat.

On Sunday we got to take a road trip and we stopped in Cardston to get this picture of the Temple.  It is a very small town, but not nearly as tiny as Glenwood, pictured below.  

Here is the main street of the town my Grandparents settled after immigrating from England.

To get to Glenwood, you must be going there on purpose, for it isn't on the way to anywhere.  It is still surrounded by wheat farms just as it was in 1911 when my mother was born.

Here is a house at the edge of town.  Amazing view, but oh, so desolate.

Here is first of the surprises: a picture of my mother, Jennie at 13. (Obviously not from my camera!)

I couldn't resist stopping to take a picture of this abandoned church on the roadside just outside of Glenwood.

Sunset in Lethbridge.

And finally we come to December.  

Here is a lovely accidental photo I call 'Christmas Secrets'

You know how I love rainbows.  But they are scarce in winter.  So I will make-do with a sundog.

On my birthday, (Dec. 7th) I woke up to a beautiful snow.  It makes me think of New England.

Later that day I dropped my camera.  Ouch.  It is at a camera hospital. A kind friend has lent me a camera.  Hopefully there will be something worth shooting in January.

Surprise #2: A gift I recently received;  I took this picture of my friend Dezra in spring of 1974.-- Almost 40 years ago. 

'For Auld Lang Syne, my dear.'  Happy new year.

A View of Summersend

Summersend is the name of the house where the main character, Ellis, lives in our Nightbird's series that will debut next summer.  It also describes how I feel during the warm days of fall.  It's as though summer is giving us a backward and regretful glance as she leaves to give-way  for autumn who will succumb, too soon, to winter's embrace.
Here are a few photos from the season just past and a glimpse of the cover of the first Nightbird's book. (Click on the pictures for a larger view.)

I absolutely love the cover.  The publisher and artist were very considerate of our suggestions.  It will be out next July.  She is holding a witch moth.

Early in the summer we took a long-overdue trip to Florida.

I found this fellow calmly strutting on the lawn near our room.

I was so surprised to see this pod of manatees while on a boat that I nearly missed taking the shot.

I had the opportunity to take a week long watercolor class from Osral Allred down at Snow college.  He was a wonderful instructor. (He is a Spring City artist.)  I enjoyed taking pictures of some of the structures in and around Ephraim.  

I love architectural details!!!!

Here I am at Nasa with Robo-Naut.  It was our second tour of Nasa.  We got the cool tour this time and we got to walk around the Mock-up of the International Space Station as well as see what the inside of a Soyuz space capsule is like.  It is cramped!  (Incidentally, I thought the movie 'Gravity' portrayed things quite well.)

I found pretty little 'Portia the Praying Mantis' on my window screen at home.

A visit to Albion meadow to see the wildflowers is my favorite day of the season.  This year the flowers were an absolute wonderland.

Which way to point the camera?

This handsome moose kept his eye on us as he ate lunch and I kept a respectful distance.  I didn't realize until later that his mate was foraging in the background.  He was on guard-duty.

Sojourner.

Window On Lake Powell

Recently I had the privilege of spending a week at Lake Powell.  I love the rocks!  There are plenty of them at the lake. :)  I never tire of searching for new views to photograph.   We stayed in Rock Creek Canyon and had a beautiful beach, sun and cool water to play in.  Here are the pictures I've chosen to share with you: (Click for larger view.)

This window rock is near Antelope Marina

Another 'arch' at the mouth of Rock Creek Canyon

Sentinel

View from our beach

I kept seeing things in the rocks.

Helloooo Mr. Lincoln!

Dubbed this one:  Knife's Edge

You know I'm always chasing rainbows.

Sunset on the rocks.

I just had to include this one.  We played the craziest game of Watermelon Keep-away with mini melons. Soooo fun. (No we did not eat it later.)  Wish you had been there.

  

Meadow

The Wasatch Wildflower Festival at Albion Meadow has become a favorite of mine over the last few years.  

It spans 3 days and four different ski resorts.  Saturday is Albion Meadow at Alta and according to the festival guides, has the most and showy flowers of all the resorts.  


Every year the display is  a little different depending on what the weather conditions have been.  It was a very warm spring and so many of the flowers I've seen in the past had already 'lost their bloom'.  But this was made up in abundance by the surprises I received along the way. 


(And to my friends who introduced the festival to me, and couldn't attend this year, you were missed. :) )  


The intermediate hike claimed to be 1 1/2 hours.  (It was 3!) It was uphill and then down.  (No cushy van to the top of the trail-head this year!) It's a trail I've taken 'down' the mountain before; it's so amazing how different something looks depending on the way one is facing on the path.  


When we finally descended the trail, the guide took us on a side path I'd never noticed before.  I saw three things I've never seen at the festival before.  Seeing pink Yarrow and white Indian Paintbrush for the first time made it  well worth the extra 45 minutes.  That's 2.  Continue on to find the third.  Enjoy!  


OH! You may have noticed I have a music box again. Yippee! If you want to hear it, just click play.   To see larger versions of the photos just click on them also.

Pearly Everlasting

Monkey Flower

Monk's Hood

This beautiful little flower was plentiful this year.  When we got back to the festival I indulged in the offered sidewalk chalk and drew my own rendition on the pavement. :) 

Pink Yarrow

This was on the side trip.  Click to see it up close.

Twinberry Honeysuckle

Sadly, not the least bit fragrant.  But it is intriguing.

Indian Paintbrush

This flower comes in many shades in the meadow, red, hot pink, pale pink, coral and russet.  But even the guide was surprised to find...

...White!!!

Here is the third thing I had never seen on this trail before... a bright orange toadstool!!!

This appeared to be a loner and  not a ring of them

 or I never would have gotten so close for fear of Faeries. :)

Oh Deer!

 This little lady posed sweetly for me.

I love how the morning sun is kissing her ears.